STORAGE MANAGEMENT: THE SNIA TECHNICAL TUTORIAL

This booklet provides a basic grounding in the history of network management interfaces and interface
definitions as a background and introduction to the work being performed by the SNIA as part of the
Storage Management Initiative. It has contrasted the characteristics of predecessor definitions with the
SNIA SMI, and described how the richness of the information model and extensibility of the definitions can
support new functionality. It has provided an overview of technology underlying the definitions produced
by SMI and the application of those definitions to the management of types of equipment commonly found
in a storage network. Development tools that are available to speed the adoption of the underlying
technologies in management applications have been described, and future developments in those
technologies anticipated. In short, the booklet has provided a primer for SNIA members to the exciting
developments in management technologies now taking place. The SMI program in SNIA is building
toward the “holy grail” of storage management—namely, the situation in which an application can discover
a previously unseen type of device in a storage network and immediately bind to it and provide a level of
management functionality. SNIA members are requested to use the information provided in this text and
the references contained in the appendices to enhance their products and management applications and
significantly simplify the administrative burden imposed by storage networks, thus literally helping to fulfill
the “efficient” part of the SNIA mission.

Objectives of this text include:

• Define terminology used in established network management and developed anew for storage
networking
• Provide a brief history of the development of management tools for networks, covering both the
advent of the Internet and developments in the Internet Engineering Task Force
• Describe current network management approaches, with particular emphasis
on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
 • Explain object modeling techniques, with specific reference to the Common
Information Model (CIM) and related DMTF definitions
• Detail specific models of types of equipment found in a storage network
• Introduce tools that can be used in the development of both management applications and device
support
• Highlight the goals of continuing development within the SMI

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